diff --git a/docs/design/2026_04_29_implemented_snapshot_logical_decoder.md b/docs/design/2026_04_29_implemented_snapshot_logical_decoder.md
index 1d3570a98..0beaf15db 100644
--- a/docs/design/2026_04_29_implemented_snapshot_logical_decoder.md
+++ b/docs/design/2026_04_29_implemented_snapshot_logical_decoder.md
@@ -772,6 +772,9 @@ decoder's answer:
   disjoint, and reads each SST with Pebble's sstable reader, yielding the
   same entries as the legacy stream. This is the one place the package
   links a storage library, because the files are in Pebble's format.
+  The package's import-boundary test allows exactly
+  `github.com/cockroachdb/pebble/v2/sstable`; importing the Pebble
+  engine or any other Pebble package fails it.
 - **Key budget.** The reader capped keys at the 1 MiB logical size, while
   the store streams stored keys up to `MaxSnapshotStoredKeySize`, 1 MiB
   plus a 32-byte internal envelope such as migration staging. The reader
diff --git a/docs/design/2026_10_16_implemented_production_commonization.md b/docs/design/2026_10_16_implemented_production_commonization.md
index 61986c9c0..799cc1761 100644
--- a/docs/design/2026_10_16_implemented_production_commonization.md
+++ b/docs/design/2026_10_16_implemented_production_commonization.md
@@ -184,7 +184,11 @@ All five milestones shipped in PR #1277. Each defect fix landed as a failing-tes
   - the FIFO dedup send timestamp sharing the record's millisecond;
   - no-TTL HLLs restoring as the legacy raw payload.
 - Mutation checks on both the backup copy and the live counterpart fail every family's test.
-- `elastickv-backup`, `elastickv-snapshot-decode`, `elastickv-snapshot-encode` and `elastickv-snapshot-archive` no longer link `store`, Pebble or `internal/encryption`. `elastickv-snapshot-prepare-restore` still does, through `internal/raftengine/etcd`, which the restore path needs.
+- `elastickv-backup`, `elastickv-snapshot-decode`, `elastickv-snapshot-encode` and `elastickv-snapshot-archive` no longer link `store`, the Pebble engine or `internal/encryption`. `elastickv-snapshot-prepare-restore` still does, through `internal/raftengine/etcd`, which the restore path needs.
+- #1276 merged while PR #1277 was open. It made the decoder read SST ingest bundles with `github.com/cockroachdb/pebble/v2/sstable` (`internal/backup/snapshot_sst.go`), as the decoder design records. With both on `main`, the boundary test failed on that import.
+  - The test now exempts exactly that package (`backupAllowedDeps`), and fails if the exemption goes unused.
+  - The Pebble engine (`github.com/cockroachdb/pebble/v2`) imports `sstable`, so it cannot come in through it. Importing the engine or any other Pebble package still fails the test.
+  - The four CLIs above therefore link the sstable reader and the Pebble packages it depends on, about 5 MiB per linux/amd64 binary. Only `elastickv-snapshot-decode` and the self-test of `elastickv-snapshot-encode` reach it; `elastickv-backup` and `elastickv-snapshot-archive` carry it unused.
 
 **M5.**
 - The autosplit splitter converts SplitRange children with `distribution.RouteDescriptorFromProto`, which rejects a nil child, an unspecified state or invalid bounds. Such a response now fails the split call instead of becoming a write-fenced placeholder.
@@ -196,5 +200,5 @@ All five milestones shipped in PR #1277. Each defect fix landed as a failing-tes
 - Coordinator wrappers share one forwarding base, and a capability-parity test is the guard against future drift (M1).
 - Admin writes and sensitive reads require both the JWT role and the live role (M2).
 - Admin S3 uploads go through the same PUT pipeline as SigV4 uploads, including admission control and blob offload; admin keeps its own size cap (M3).
-- `internal/backup`'s import boundary is enforced by a test, and every backup mirror of an adapter encoder has an adapter-side byte-for-byte cross-check (M4).
+- `internal/backup`'s import boundary is enforced by a test, and every backup mirror of an adapter encoder has an adapter-side byte-for-byte cross-check (M4). The boundary keeps the Pebble engine out but allows exactly Pebble's `sstable` reader, because SST ingest bundles are Pebble sstable files (#1276).
 - Shared server wiring lives in `internal/serverwiring`; the demo stays a separate binary (M5).
diff --git a/internal/backup/import_boundary_test.go b/internal/backup/import_boundary_test.go
index 06e3f41c6..b8e112074 100644
--- a/internal/backup/import_boundary_test.go
+++ b/internal/backup/import_boundary_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"go/build"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 )
@@ -24,6 +25,16 @@ var backupForbiddenDeps = []string{
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/pebble",
 }
 
+// backupAllowedDeps are exact package paths exempt from
+// backupForbiddenDeps. Snapshot SST ingest bundles are Pebble sstable
+// files, so the decoder reads them with Pebble's sstable reader
+// (snapshot_sst.go, docs/design/2026_04_29_implemented_snapshot_logical_decoder.md).
+// That package cannot reach the Pebble engine, which imports it, and
+// importing the engine or any other Pebble package still fails the test.
+var backupAllowedDeps = []string{
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/pebble/v2/sstable",
+}
+
 // TestBackupLinksNoLiveClusterCode walks the non-test import closure of
 // internal/backup through first-party packages and fails on any
 // forbidden package, naming the import chain that reaches it.
@@ -56,9 +67,43 @@ func TestBackupLinksNoLiveClusterCode(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 		}
 	}
+	for _, allowed := range backupAllowedDeps {
+		if _, seen := via[allowed]; !seen {
+			t.Errorf("internal/backup no longer links %s; remove it from backupAllowedDeps", allowed)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestForbiddenBackupDep pins the boundary's matching rules: a forbidden
+// entry covers its subpackages, and an allowed entry exempts only its
+// exact path.
+func TestForbiddenBackupDep(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	const pebble = "github.com/cockroachdb/pebble"
+	cases := []struct {
+		pkgPath string
+		want    string
+	}{
+		{pkgPath: pebble + "/v2/sstable", want: ""},
+		{pkgPath: pebble + "/v2", want: pebble},
+		{pkgPath: pebble + "/v2/sstable/block", want: pebble},
+		{pkgPath: pebble + "/sstable", want: pebble},
+		{pkgPath: elastickvModule + "/store", want: elastickvModule + "/store"},
+		{pkgPath: elastickvModule + "/internal/encryption/kek", want: elastickvModule + "/internal/encryption"},
+		{pkgPath: elastickvModule + "/internal/s3keys", want: ""},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		if got := forbiddenBackupDep(tc.pkgPath); got != tc.want {
+			t.Errorf("forbiddenBackupDep(%q) = %q, want %q", tc.pkgPath, got, tc.want)
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 func forbiddenBackupDep(pkgPath string) string {
+	if slices.Contains(backupAllowedDeps, pkgPath) {
+		return ""
+	}
 	for _, forbidden := range backupForbiddenDeps {
 		if pkgPath == forbidden || strings.HasPrefix(pkgPath, forbidden+"/") {
 			return forbidden